Linde Werdelin SpidoSpeed Gold Watch

Linde Werdelin is a brand with a very focused energy. Their watches are technical, masculine, and all exhibit their unique perspective on modern watch design. Few of their watches better express their brand DNA than the very cool SpidoSpeed Chronograph, which was launched at BaselWorld in 2011. The SpidoSpeed represented the combination of both the SpidoLite case design and the LW03, an exclusive automatic chronograph movement made by the Swiss manufacturer Concepto. Linde Werdelin has now announced the newest member of the SpidoSpeed family, aptly named the SpidoSpeed Gold.

With the new SpidoSpeed Gold, Linde Werdelin has taken the hugely complex case design of the original SpidoSpeed and then produced the entire 32 piece case in 18k gold. The precious metal exterior is then satin finished and ready to be worn. Linde Werdelin has managed to preserve what made the original SpidoSpeed so great: lightness; an avant-garde case design; and a sophisticated but rough-and-tumble demeanor which begs to be worn on a wrist. Weighing in at a reasonable 126g and measuring 44 mm across and only 15mm tall, the SpidoSpeed Gold will be comfy for most wrists and capable of fitting under most cuffs.

The calling card for the entire SpidoSpeed series is the dramatic case design which I think is both radical and beautiful. I think case design is a bold pantomime which changes its tone depending on the type of finish. While the DLC version of the SpidoSpeed is rather stealthy, this new gold version exhibits a very muted luxuriousness. The matte satin finish does not hide the gold's color but rather reins in its overall bling factor, making it an excellent choice for those who could never understand the appeal of a gold Rolex Datejust. More to the point, Linde Werdelin has managed to make gold cool. In almost any instance, I won't give a gold watch a second look, as my taste lies in stainless steel or titanium. There is something about gold watches that always seems to be too flashy or too cruise-boat-chic for my tastes, but the SpidoSpeed Gold looks youthful, aggressive and the satin finish is an excellent match for its complex case and detailed dial design.

Hidden within the futuristic skeletonized case is the LW03 Concepto, an automatic chronograph movement which provides a power reserve of 48 hours and even incorporates the use of a ceramic bearing for the oscillating weight which winds the movement. This fully-decorated caliber can be viewed through the SpidoSpeed's sapphire display case back.

The Linde Werdelin SpidoSpeed Gold is limited to only 100 units in its initial run, which will be available starting later this month. The base SpidoSpeed Steel carries a price tag of $15,000 USD but, with gold being gold, the new SpidoSpeed Gold will carry a price tag of $38, 500 excluding VAT. I think that there is a considerable group of buyers (myself included) who shy away from gold watches because they are fearful of the flashy or even cheesy image that they may project while wearing a gold timepiece. I am a big fan of the original SpidoSpeed and this new gold version proves that when it's done correctly, gold can be a fitting platform for a modern and aggressively styled sport watch.

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James Stacey

James (@jamesstacey) is a writer, dilettante photographer and part-time adventurer. An obsessive fan of many things, he loves watches for their breadth of style, historical connections and raw technical design. James has tendency for diving with dive watches, obsessing about case thickness and, despite owning a vast collection of leather straps, he lives by the adage - "when in doubt, just nato". He also wrote this entire bio himself and is pretty sure it's not a cry for help.

@AtSeaWatch@Greg S@nateb123 I totally agree with Nate. The SpidoSpeed design you referred to as the 'original' was a prototype. If you have any knowledge of the product design process, it was a work-in-progress towards the 'original' design. The pushers in the original production design look good to me. If Linde Werdelin had released the SpidoSpeed in anyway they did not think was the best they could offer, then I would say they had compromised the watch as a whole. I like their integrity, and not getting swayed by public opinions from people who had no idea about designing a mechanical watch!

I have never seen anywhere they said the pushers were a compromise and admitted the strap system was flawed, but heard only the opposite.

I hate to repeat my criticisms of the original Spidospeed, but it's still a compromised design. It doesn't work on non-large wrists, the pushers are buried in the sharp case, and now the tool watch ethos is lost while chasing the luxury market. You say this model preserved what made the original great, but it could be argued that they simply gilded the old problems. I could be wrong and they completely redesigned the strap attachment points to deal with the fit issue, but I don't see mention of that here. Gold tool watches are the last bastion of scoundrels in this industry.

I'm not trying to slag LW. I think they've got interesting ideas, but I have to wonder if they're in the weeds at this point. The way they've defined their approach to luxury makes this watch baffling and come across as an exercise in squeezing the foolish rich with a design in need of help.

@AtSeaWatch I can not express in word form how much I hate everything you just said. In an industry stifled with pathetic attempts at being "retro" or rehashing the same "iconic" designs, LW has made something not just different but exceptional as well. That's so rare. Essentially my mind just paraphrased all that you said into "But this watch isn't for overly-finicky man-boys who think a black dial with lume printed on it in a Chinese case is the epitome of watch design." Or alternatively "This watch is too cool for me". And it is. It really is.

@nateb123 Wow, must struck a nerve with that. Let me paraphrase what I said since you could not. The execution, not the design, is flawed. I like the LW aesthetic. But seriously, leaving acknowledged flaws and making a tool watch in gold just makes it a gold watch for tools. It'll go great with gold chains and Ed Hardy t-shirts. If that's the kind of "cool" you're chasing, then yes, it is too "cool" for me, but clearly not for you.

@AtSeaWatch All of their past collections are sold out. Only the Spidolite II and Spidospeed remain. If they were sold out they'd have nothing to sell. And of their current collection, the cheapest is.... *Da-dah!* €9480 for a bare titanium Spidolite II.

And circling back to the original point before never commenting again (because really, what's the point?): every watch LW has ever made attaches the same way to the strap. If they gave a crap about the whining from people who think that it should fit like a Datejust, they'd have changed it by now. Clearly, they haven't. Sometimes just telling people "we're working on it" is the way companies say "Cool story bro, we're gonna go sell to people who are actually our target market now". People who aren't professional complainers. Good watch companies know what feedback to ignore, and watch fans seem to be disproportionately whiny about senseless details. (I suspect because they can't afford much of what they look at and need to be a hilariously Aesop's Fables about those unreachable grapes.)

Given this, I'd say "uncompromising" is an accurate compliment to provide the brand and that they're doing just fine. And now I think it's time to excuse myself from this online nerd fight as quickly as I instigated it.

@nateb123 They've acknowledged he strap attachment system is flawed and they're looking into correcting it. They acknowledged that the pusher were a compromise borne out of an inability to deliver what they'd first showed off. These are imagined by me. That's not uncompromising. Quite the opposite. I'm beginning to think you don't understand the meanings of half the words you use.

Another thing. Saying "Oh yeah, and they start at about 10 grand." makes you come across as an even bigger idiot than you usually muster. You can set MSRP anywhere you'd like They could set the price at $100 billion. They have very small production runs and many of those have not sold out. That says that market disagrees with their pricing structure. Oh yeah, and they start way below 10 grand.

@AtSeaWatch I really think you have an idea of what a watch should be that this simply doesn't fit and you see that as "flawed". Like since when is any LW a tool watch? They make a dive watch with no bezel, skeletonization that is unconcerned with legibility, highly sculpted cases and everything has an exhibition caseback. Oh yeah, and they start at about 10 grand. They're quite clearly a world away from a Planet Ocean, let alone a Sinn.

So given that, I'd say it's not compromised, it's uncompromising. Compromised to me says "dumbed down" either for more sales to a wider audience, or to please a bunch of disagreeing product developers. This (and every LW) is about as far from that as possible. Your complaints only prove that point. And this does well what every other LW has done, better than many in fact.